


It's Raining Cats and Dogs

by Geronimo_with_the_avengers, LondynEngland, WriterManiac1



Series: Managing the Avengers [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adoption, F/M, Pet Store, Slight!Loki/Reader, Slow Build, fluff?, guys help us, maybe idk, oh boy, this took a looong time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-02-17 18:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2318432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geronimo_with_the_avengers/pseuds/Geronimo_with_the_avengers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LondynEngland/pseuds/LondynEngland, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterManiac1/pseuds/WriterManiac1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off the Tumblr post “Steve and Bucky going to an animal shelter” With our own twists and turns on the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where's Bucky?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter One Summary: It’s been weeks since anything exciting has happened. The team decides to tag along with you as you go to volunteer at the pet shelter. What happens when Bucky disappears?

“I’m leaving!” You yell over your shoulder before you walk into the elevator. Right before the doors close however, Tony’s hand manages to wedge its way in-between the doors, effectively re-opening them.

“Where are you going?” He asks, confused. 

“The Animal Shelter. I volunteer there, remember?” 

Tony scrunches his face up. “But you already work for us.” 

You heave a sigh. “Just because I volunteer there, doesn’t mean I don’t work for you guys anymore, Tony. I’m off work right now so I’m giving back to the community.” You say, already annoyed with him for the day. During the time that you had volunteered at the shelter you probably had told Tony a million times, but he still managed to not remember and remind you that you worked for him. 

Before the elevator doors shut again, Tony suddenly grabbed your wrist and jerked you out of the elevator, the doors closing before you could jump back in them. 

“Hey!” You yell at him. 

“What if I need you to do something for us?” Tony asked quickly, his voice panicked as if you were walking out of the job forever. 

You roll you [Eye Color] eyes. “Then you can call me on my cellphone or ask Jarvis. Now can I please go?”

“Go where?” Loki asks curiously, appearing from around the corner. 

As soon as you hear his smooth accent, you bite your lip, your stomach flipping. Your crush on Loki was getting bad. It started as a simple “I think he’s cute” but now it was getting really, really bad. You were at the point of, “I have a _huge_ crush on you.” And that was bad. Everyone would think you were crazy for liking him so you couldn’t even tell anyone, not even your best friend Natasha or your brother Clint. Wait; scratch that, _definitely_ not your brother. He’d probably kill the both of you.

When you first started to like Loki, you thought it would be easy to hide it from everyone, and it was. The more time that went on however, the harder it was to hide it from everyone. So far you had been doing an amazing job because no one had a clue about your crush, but as you grew to like him more and more it was getting harder to hide it.

“T-the Animal Shelter. I-I’ve just got to go check on a few things there,” You answered, cursing yourself for stuttering. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you thought you saw Tony give a knowing smirk but it was gone before you could determine if you had really seen it or not. 

“What is this ‘Shelter of Animals’ you speak of?” Thor asked from the couch where Steve, Bucky and Nat were watching TV. 

“It’s where homeless, abused, unwanted, lost or abandoned animals go.” You explained. “The Shelter takes care of them and lets people adopt them to give them a new home where they can be loved.” When you said mentioned people adopting the animals, you noticed that Loki stiffened and you gave him a worried look but he wouldn’t move his eyes off the floor to meet yours so you gave up and looked back at Thor. 

Thor grinned. “I would like to see this place,” He boomed. 

You couldn’t help your eyebrows raise in surprise. “Uhh… sure. If you want you can come with me.” 

“May I come as well?” Loki asked, his eyes moving from the floor to lock his emerald green eyes on your [Eye Color] ones.

You swallowed a lump in your throat from the intensity of his eyes. “I-If you want,” You managed to say. 

“I want to come too,” Nat announced, standing up and stretching. “I’m tired of being cramped up in this tower.” 

“If you guys want to come we have to leave now,” You glanced at your watch worriedly. “Cuz I’m going to be late,” Your eyes looked back up at everyone again. “So who wants to come?” 

Clint spoke up from the table that he and Bruce were sitting at. “I’ve got nothing better to do,” He shrugged. 

You nodded your head at him, acknowledging that he wanted to go. 

“I want to go,” Bucky said, piping into the conversation. 

“What about you Bruce?” You asked, your eyes sliding to the scientist that was working at the table and furiously scribbling something on a piece of paper. 

Bruce scrunched his eyes up, staring so intently at the paper in front of him that you wondered if he even heard you until he sighed and took of his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose trying to clear his head before he answered. “My formula’s not working so maybe if I take a break then I can come back later and work on it. So I’ll come.” 

“Cool,” You smiled then looked around. “Anyone else?” Slowly your eyes turned to Tony. 

“Oh no. I am not coming and neither is anyone else!” Tony exclaimed. “If we go to that dang place then we’re going to come home with some stupid animal. I am not having a dumb pet mess up things in the tower. ” 

That seemed to damper everyone’s mood. 

“For once I agree with Tony,” Steve said, standing up, his face serious. “If we go, we’re going to end up bringing something home with us.” 

“Come on Steve,” Clint said, rolling his eyes. “We’re not going to bring anything home. Everyone needs to just get out of the house for a little bit. That’s all.” 

Steve opened his mouth to argue but hesitated, realizing that Clint was right. All of us had been cooped up in the Avengers Tower for over 2 weeks, hardly ever leaving except for the essentials. He closed his mouth then looked at Tony with a ‘he’s got a point’ look. 

Tony gave a very immature eye roll. “Fine,” He groaned then halfheartedly said, “Everyone pile up in the limo.” 

You smiled and pressed the elevator button having it open with a ding. 

Luckily the elevator was really large so everyone pilled in and headed outside to meet Happy, Tony’s personal chauffeur, bodyguard and one of Tony’s closest friends. 

You didn’t have to wait long until Happy parked the black limo outside and you all pilled in. Tony and Happy switched seats so Happy was in the passenger seat and Tony was in the driver’s seat. The car wouldn’t move until Happy and Tony made the switch. It was a strange habit of Tony’s. He would never let anyone else drive for him and he never told anyone why, it was just something that everyone accepted. 

Once you finally got there, you rushed out of the car and quickly ran in, already 15 minutes late from the traffic. When you walked in you hurried through the doors, your breathing heavy as you starting ranting how sorry you were. “I’m so sorry, Lucy!” You apologized hastily as soon as you saw your boss that took care of the shelter. “I tried to get here faster but Tony wouldn’t let me leave, then everyone else wanted to come-” You started to ramble and Lucy gave a loud, good-natured laugh. 

“Oh [Name]! You act like I’m going to force you to never come back for being late!” Lucy laughed. “As if I’d let my best worker go! Stop your silly apologies, I know how busy your life is, it’s perfectly fine!”

You smiled at her, thankful for her happy and easy going attitude. Lucy was the sweetest and most understanding lady that you had ever met. She was an older lady with short brown hair and green eyes as well as a fun and adventurous personality that should have been put in a teenager’s body. Her and her husband, who were in their mid-40’s, worked the shelter and were like your second parents. They had adopted you and Clint right away when they first met the both of you since they didn’t have any kids as their own. Lucy and Dan, her husband, were always such a breath of fresh air to you, and were always really nice to have close by since your real parents lived in [Somewhere far away from New York]. You could count on Lucy and Dan for anything. If you needed to talk to someone, they were always the first people that you would call if you couldn’t reach your parents. 

“Thanks, Lucy,” You said relieved. Even though Lucy was really sweet and forgiving, you were still worried about being kicked out of the shelter as a volunteer. You really loved working at the shelter and if you couldn’t come back to help, it really would tear a hole in your heart. 

Lucy smiled kindly at you then swiveled her eyes to the door where everyone was walking in. You spun around to face everyone, Steve speaking. “Now remember guys. We are not here to get a pet. We’re only here to look around and get away from the tower,” He reminded everyone before looking up to meet Lucy’s smiling face. 

“Why hello,” She welcomed warmly. “What can I do for you today?” 

“Oh they’re with me, Lucy,” You explained and she raised a slender brown eyebrow, urging you to continue. “These are the Avengers,” You said, gesturing to your friends and smiling, pleased by her surprised reaction. 

“So you’re the ones that [Name] works for,” Lucy eyes brightened, excided that she was finally being able to meet the people that you worked for. Her eyes looked at everyone then stopped on your brother. “Clint!” She exclaimed. “I didn’t even recognize you! How have you been?”

Clint smiled, “I’ve been doing great Lucy thanks. How about you?” 

“Not very good seeing as you don’t visit me anymore,” She told him, eyeing him accusingly while he laughed. 

“I promise to do better, Lucy.” 

“Good,” Lucy said, a small smile on her lips from teasing him. Her face then broke out into a full on smile as she looked at everyone else. “Clint and [Name] I know, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about the rest of you besides you saving New York and [Name] working for you guys,” She said, feeling guilty that she really didn’t know much about them.

“You have to know who I am,” Tony cockily said, stepping forwards.

Lucy looked at Tony sheepishly. “Afraid not. Sorry,” She apologized. 

The look on Tony’s face from hearing that she didn’t know who he was, almost made you laugh aloud but instead you introduced everyone from farthest away from you. “This is Tony, Loki, -you already know Clint-, Bruce, Bucky, Natasha, Thor, and Steve.”

Everyone smiled and waved while Steve nodded his head, “How are you doing ma’am?” 

“Very well thank you,” She smiled brightly back then scanned over the Avengers, going through their names in her head before gesturing to the back door and saying, “You’re welcome to take a look around,” She met your eyes. “Would you mind showing them around?” 

“Sure thing,” You nodded then walked to the back doors, everyone following after you. 

Immediately after the doors swung open, the familiar noises from both cats and dogs could be heard. 

“They sure like to speak,” Loki noted, his eyes scrunched up as if he was trying to understand the animal language. Only later, you realize he wasn’t speaking figuratively, but literally.

You nodded, agreeing with his words before gathering everyone together. You told them the layout of the place then sent everyone to explore before Steve gave another stern reminder and being very clear that you weren’t there to get a dog or any other pet. Once everyone knew where everything was and heard Steve’s reminder, they spread out. 

You thought that everyone else had left so you were startled when someone tapped your shoulder. 

“Sorry, [Name],” Bruce apologized. “I just…” He looked awkwardly at the floor. “I was wondering if I could just stick with you, if that was alright.” 

“Of course,” You answered, “I’m just going to go and check on some of the pets. Do you want to come with?” 

He nodded and you led him down a long hallway until you stopped in front of a sick cat’s kennel. You bent down and pet the small frail thing on the head with your fingers through the kennel. “This little guy is one of our most recent animals that were brought in,” You explained sadly to Bruce as he bent down next to you. “He won’t eat his food or walk around at all and we have no idea why. We’ve tried everything, but without knowing what’s wrong with him, we can’t treat him,” You gave an exasperated sigh. “If we don’t find out what wrong with him soon, he’s going to have to be put down.” 

Bruce’s eyes furrowed at the animal in concentration and took his glasses out from his chest pocket, putting them on and examining the cat. “When did you bring him in?” 

“Uh… about 4 days ago I think.” 

“Have you noticed any scratches on him?”

“Scratches?” 

Bruce nodded as he explained. “If he has a scratch somewhere, it can get infected and cause the cat to be in a lot of pain. So much so that he doesn’t want to move or eat. What about water? Does he drink?” 

You nodded. “He drinks but he doesn’t like to get up unless he has to. No eating though.” 

“Hmm…That would rule out what I was thinking then,” The scientist tapped his chin in thought then turned to look at you. “Is he sensitive anywhere on his body?” 

“I don’t think so,” You said slowly, trying to remember anything then suddenly you snapped your fingers. “He doesn’t like you to touch near his face. Milo- that’s his name- he’s fine if you touch the top of his head gently, but he doesn’t like you to touch near his face.” 

“Have you checked his teeth?” 

“No. Why?”

“He could have a toothache,” Bruce explained. “The cat- er- Milo wouldn’t want to eat because it would hurt his tooth. He’d have the natural instinct to drink though so he could still do that without hurting his tooth. When a cat is in a lot of pain, they don’t like to move because moving can make the pain increase tremendously. From what you’ve told me, he probably has something wrong with his teeth.” 

“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Lucy exclaimed, making both you and Bruce jump, not knowing that she had snuck up behind you. “[Name], why don’t you go take Milo to the exam room? Dan is in there and he can take a look at Milo’s teeth. I’ll be there in a minute.”

You nodded obediently then opened the kennel and gently took Milo out before carefully walking towards the exam room. Lucy joined you soon as well as Bruce where you all found out that Milo had a cracked tooth. Dan wrote down the correct treatments and medicine to help Milo then send the cat back off to his cage until they got the medicine. 

Lucy took Milo in her arms to take him back, but strangely called to Bruce. “Would you mind walking with me?” She asked him. 

Bruce looked surprised but nodded his head while she smiled and led him out of the exam room and down the hall. 

When Bruce came back and met you in front of the exam room, where you were talking to Dan, he had a huge smile on his face. “What happened to you?” You asked, laughing slightly from seeing Bruce looking so happy. 

“Lucy offered me a small part time job here to help with the sick animals and give checkups for them. She was impressed with how I treated Milo and wants my help more. This is finally going to be my chance to help living things again [Name]!” He exclaimed excitedly, sounding like a kid at Disneyland for the first time. 

“I’m happy for you, Bruce,” You smiled and he nodded his thanks then thanked Lucy and Dan for the job before you guys went to meet up with everyone else. Bruce told everyone the good news before you noticed someone was missing. 

“Where’s Bucky?” You ask, frowning. 

“He was just with me!” Steve said, turning around and looked around for Bucky. “I thought he was following me!” 

“This place is huge!” Tony complained. “How are we supposed to find him?” 

“We could split up?” Nat offered. “Go in teams of twos?” 

“We’ll help too,” Lucy spoke up. “He couldn’t have gone too far.” 

“Thanks guys,” You told them then turned to everyone else. “Alright, everyone team up.” 

“I’m going with Bruce,” Tony immediately announced and quickly pulled the still smiling man away. 

“Brother Barton would you care to go with me?” Thor asked and Clint shrugged before heading off with Thor down the halls. 

“I’ll go with Lo-” You started but your words were drowned out as Steve loudly said. 

“[Name] and I will team up.” 

You couldn’t help but feel disappointed, your face dropping slightly. You were looking forward to teaming up with Loki but it didn’t matter now. Forcing a smile you tried not to spit out the words bitterly, but instead sounded normal when you said, “Then it looks like Loki and Nat will be a team.” Thank the Heavens for your SHIELD training or you could never pull that off. 

Steve started down a hall and you sighed before following along, giving one last look at Loki and Natasha who were walking the opposite direction. You sighed as your hopefulness was crushed with being a team with Loki. Turning your head back, you jogged after Steve to catch up to him. 

 

After looking for a while, there was a cross road, each a dead end at the end of the hall so you and Steve decided to each take a hall and go down it to see if Bucky was there. Steve went left while you went right, wandering the long and twisted hall way. 

Over at the end of the hallway, you stop walking, putting your hands on your hips and having to stare at the sight in front of you. Bucky had a half smile on his face while he was playing with a three legged Rottweiler puppy in its large kennel, the dog barking happily. 

You walked closer to Bucky, a small smile on your face as you watched him play with the puppy. He heard your footprints and turned to look at you, his face blank with the smile completely gone before he looked back and the puppy and started to play with him again, the smile returning. 

“I see you found a friend,” You grinned. 

Bucky’s lips twitched up and he nodded then frowned as if he realized something. “What does the date on the wall mean?” 

Hearing his words you winced. “It- it uh means that if that animal isn’t adopted by that date then…” You swallowed the painful lump in your throat. “They have to be put down,” The last sentence was in a hushed voice but Bucky still heard. 

“What does it mean to be ‘put down’?” he asked innocently as he scratched the Rottweiler’s stomach. 

You had to close your eyes from his question. Seeing how attached that Bucky had already gotten to the dog, and that the puppy’s date was tomorrow, was almost as painful as someone punching you in the gut. 

Swallowing, you tried to answer gently in the best way you could. “When a dog can’t be cared for anymore or i-is sick,” You explained, your voice quivering slightly. “They have to be put down. When a dog is put down it means that they….well it’s a nice way to p-put the dog to sleep,” You sighed, not feeling like you were doing a good job. Bucky didn’t know what putting a dog to sleep was either. You tried again, your voice quiet and laced with pain. “When a dog is put to sleep it’s a….a peaceful way to kill the dog.” 

You couldn’t meet Bucky’s eyes when he turned to you quickly after hearing that the dog would be killed, but you didn’t have to look at him to know his face was filled with horror upon hearing something so horrible. 

Having to put some of the animals in the shelter down was the worst part about volunteering there. It was painful to think that a sweet animal had to die because no one knew that he or she needed a home. 

Bucky turned and looked at the puppy in a new way, not with playfulness but with pain. “W-why isn’t he getting adopted?” Bucky finally managed to ask. 

“His leg,” You answered sorrowfully. “People don’t want a dog with a limb missing. They want dogs with four legs, n-not three.”

Upon hearing what you had to say, Bucky lifted up his own metal arm, thinking of his own limb that was taken from him. The similarity between the rottie and Bucky just hurt your heart even more. Bucky was missing his left arm while the poor puppy was missing his front left leg. 

You heard Steve’s feet on the floor as he came jogging towards you. “Hey did you find Buc….” His voice trailed off when he saw Bucky playing with the puppy, his mood depressing and motions sad. 

Bucky heard Steve coming and looked up at Steve then back at the dog, not talking for a really long time. “He’s going to be put down soon,” He finally said, his voice soft and laced with pain. “No one will adopt him because he only has three legs,” Bucky then looked back up at Steve and you, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Why does he have to get put down? What did he do wrong? It wasn’t his fault he lost his leg.” 

No one really noticed everyone else join up just before Bucky started to talk because they paused and stayed silent when they saw what was happening. 

“We can’t take him home, Buck,” Steve said halfheartedly, not being able to look at the puppy and his best friend without feeling guilty. 

“Why not?” Bucky asked, still looking at the puppy. “Doesn’t he deserve another chance?” Bucky continued. “You guys gave Loki and me a second chance, how come he doesn’t get one?”

You closed your eyes and look away, the emotion feeling like it was a boulder crushing you beneath its weight. Biting your lip, you turned to Tony and looked at him pleadingly but Tony wasn’t the one that needed convincing as he was already nodding his head, ready to adopt the puppy. Steve was the one that was still not giving in. 

Finally Steve looked at the pair then back at Tony nodding. He sighed muttering, “Gosh dangit.” Under his breath before saying softly, yet loud enough for everyone to hear. “Alright Bucky… we can… we can take him home.” 

Bucky’s expression immediately brightened and he smiled at Steve before turning to the puppy and scratching his head enthusiastically. “You want to come to a new home, buddy?” 

The dog barked and you smiled before turning back to look at everyone. 

“Wait a second,” Tony shook his head, waving his hands in a ‘hold on’ gesture. “Where would we put him? He is not coming on the main level where we live.”

“We have the extra level right below the main one,” Natasha pointed out. 

“Yeah, we could fix it up and have the dog live down there.” Clint agreed. 

Tony opened his mouth then closed it again before finally nodding, sketching out a plan in his head for the floor. “Yeah okay, I can see that. Maybe we could add some fake grass in one of the rooms since we don’t have a backyard, the dog would have to have a play room of course…” He starting to walk away, muttering things to add to the floor while you smiled at him and rolled your eyes playfully before following after him.

“How long does it take to adopt this ‘pet’?” Thor asked, his voice louder than all the dogs barking as you walked past. 

You shrugged, “It really depends. We can have Lucy and Dan keep the dog for a while until we get everything settled for where he’s going to live, then after we sign the papers, he can come home with us.”

Thor nodded as everyone continued walking, a bright smile still on Bucky’s face. You glanced back behind your shoulder quickly then looked ahead but you turned your head back immediately when you noticed that Loki had trailed off from the group and was standing a few yards away. “Loki?” You asked before you walk towards him and stand next to him, eyeing the pure black cat sitting in the cage in front of him. 

“Who is this?” Loki asked. 

Immediately your cheeks flush a dark red, remembering that, since the kitten didn’t come to the shelter with a name, you named the cat Loki because of how much mischief it could make in a matter of seconds. Coughing, you responded. “He doesn’t have one.”

Loki furrowed his eyebrows at the cat and you could feel a weight lift off your chest because Loki didn’t call out your lie. He always knew when you lied, but thankfully he didn’t push you on this one. Maybe it was because it wasn’t a true lie. He really didn’t have one when he first got here.

“Why are there two dates on this cage?” Loki asked curiously. “You said that they are there for when the animal would be killed, but I only see one animal.” His eyes met yours at the last few words. 

“He had another brother.” You explained remembering the ginger cat that you had named Thor because of how long the kitten’s hair was as well as being the black kitten’s brother. It seemed fit to name the cats after the two Gods. “His brother got adopted already, but…” You turned your gaze on the cat in the cage. “He didn’t. No one wanted him.” 

The God of Mischief and Lies held a sympathetic look on his face, staring intently at the cat. “I want him,” Loki said firmly. 

“You do?” You asked, not being able to hear the surprised laced in your voice. Even though that Loki had finally come to accept the human culture, he still didn’t enjoy some elements. 

He nodded. “I do.” 

“Well then you’ll have to talk to Tony and Steve then,” You told him and he nodded, agreeing.

“We should leave now,” He recommended, “They will leave us behind.” To have you hurry faster, Loki grasped your hand and pulled you down the hall quickly until you caught up with the Avengers who were just exciting the caging area. 

As soon as Loki grabbed your hand, you starting to freak out. Your cheeks flushed, your breathing increased and your mind raced. When you both caught up to them, instead of immediately letting go of your hand, Loki let his fingers linger slightly then finally released you. Immediately after his hand left yours, you brought your hand to your chest, biting your lip and not being able to believe what happened. 

_Did he mean do to that?_ You asked yourself then quickly scolded yourself for thinking that way. Loki only liked you as a friend, he wouldn’t have a crush on you like you did him. He just wanted to get there faster and have you go quickly as well.

“[Name]? [Name]?” Lucy asked, waving her hand in front of you to snap you out of your thoughts. 

You blinked, flinching back slightly then returned back from the clouds. “What?” 

Lucy laughed slightly. “I asked if you guys needed anything.” 

“Oh yeah well actually Lucy, we wanted to adopt two pets.” 

“Two?” Tony suddenly cut in. 

You nodded at Tony then repeated, “Two. The black cat in hall A and the three legged Rottweiler in hall G.”

“That’s wonderful!” Lucy exclaimed and clasped her hands together. “I’m so happy that they’ll finally have good homes! When do you want to do the paperwork, sweetie?” 

“I was wondering if you could hold them for a little bit, if that was alright. We didn’t think we were going to get any pets so we still need to get all the supplies.” 

“Of course that’s alright!” She smiled. “You guys take your time in getting what you need. They will be right here.” 

“Thanks Lucy.” You smiled. 

“We really do need to get going though,” Clint said, glancing at his watch, the rest of the Avengers nodding. 

“Alright I will see you all of you later when you come to pick up the dog and cat. And Clint?” She said sternly, his head turning towards her. “You had better come too.” 

He laughed then nodded, assuring Lucy he’d stop by.

Everyone said their goodbyes and started walking away, Tony asking Loki what the hell you were talking about when you said two pets while Loki explained, but Lucy stopped you. “[Name]? Could you come here real fast? I need to talk to you.” 

“Yeah sure,” You nodded then told everyone you would be a few minutes and jogged back to the counter where Lucy was sitting at. Once the doors shut, everyone out of the building, Lucy turned to you, her hands on her hips, looking at you with such disappointment you tilted your head, confused on what you did. 

“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me,” She said, sternly. 

“Tell you what?” You asked, still confused. 

“That you liked that Loki fella!” She exclaimed, her disappointment leaving into a smile but your eyes widening in panic. 

“I don’t like him,” You tried to say with your voice level and your arms crossed over your chest. 

“Oh that’s cute honey,” Lucy laughed, “But honestly? You think that I don’t know you [Name]? When you introduced everyone and said his name, you blushed! Everyone else was normal.” 

You choked, not knowing your crush was so obvious. 

“Oh no darling,” Lucy assured, seeing the panic clearly written on your face. “No one would have noticed except me. Just because I don’t have any kids of my own doesn’t mean I don’t have a mother’s eye,” She winked. “And you know, I had always wondered why you wanted to name that cat Loki but now it makes total sense!” 

“Please don’t tell anyone, Lucy!” You begged, your heart racing in your chest. 

“Why would I?” She laughed, “I promise I won’t tell but I have one question that you have to answer before I promise.” 

Nodding fiercely you said, “Anything.” 

Slowly a teasing and flirtatious smirk traced its way on Lucy’s lips. “When are you going to tell that young man that you fancy him?” 

You gasped. “Never!” You said horrified. 

“And why not?” Lucy asked you sassily, her hands back on her hips. 

“Because he doesn’t like me in that way!” You said exasperated. “Plus everyone would think I was nuts for liking the man that tore up New York City!” 

“I don’t,” Lucy said, her face serious then she gave one of her ‘what am I going to do with this kid?’ sighs when you gave her a strange look, asking if she was kidding. “[Name], everyone deserves a second chance. From what I’ve heard, most of the people of New York have accepted him as a hero. He’s saved New York more times than he’s tried to destroy it.” 

You opened your mouth to argue but sighed, realizing she was right. New York had been threatened many times and each time, Loki was saving it right along with the rest of the Avengers, helping the Avengers get out of tough spots. In a lot of cases, if it weren’t for Loki, New York wouldn’t be safe. It might have been in ruins without his help with so many people trying to destroy it or take it over.

A car horn went off three times, telling you that Tony was getting impatient of waiting. 

“I-I have to go,” You said then started towards the door but Lucy stopped you again. 

“[Name],” She said, her voice soft and motherly. “Think about what I said okay?” 

You hesitated before giving her a soft nod then slipped out the doors to the car, her words following you the whole way there and the whole way back home. You knew that people had forgiven Loki but you still weren’t sure about the Avengers. Sure they worked with him, but that didn’t necessarily mean that they forgave him completely or trusted him. You were afraid that they would judge you for liking him and that they would kick you out if they ever found out. Having a crush on Loki was embarrassing. If Clint ever found out…it would be horrible. Somehow you felt like liking Loki was betraying Clint because he had been possessed. It felt like you were betraying the whole Avengers because of your crush. Loki had wronged them all in some way but… you just couldn’t help yourself. For every bad, Loki had a good.


	2. It Isn't Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers come to the realization that it's not fair that only Bucky and Loki have pets, and demand their own. Will Tony have a breakdown? Will Steve actually let them get a pet? What the hell is going on between Loki and [Name]? All these questions and more will be answered in this. Well, maybe not that last one.

After three weeks of hard work, shopping and planning, the “pet lounge”, as Tony called it, was finished. You brought Roger- Bucky’s dog- and Frost- Loki’s cat- home where they immediately where thrilled to be there. Tony had a good laugh about what Loki chose to name the cat, nicknaming him Frosty the Snowcat but Loki, Thor, Steve and Bucky all didn’t get the joke since none of them had seen the old show “Frosty the Snowman”. However, that failed to stop Tony from continuing to use the name over and over again.

The pet lounge actually turned out really nice. It had 8 bedrooms, Roger and Frost getting their own, a large open space for the animals to play and a grassy spot in an extra big room for the backyard since you couldn’t have one in the city. Roger and Frost had toys scattered everywhere, as well as lots of things to make them comfortable. Tony even went as far as getting some chairs, couches and other furnishing objects as well as a TV for them, though you didn’t know why they would really need it. 

Currently, you were sitting on the couch, throwing a ball for Roger to chase. Roger was clumsy at first with only three legs but Tony felt bad for the dog and managed to make a metal prosthetic leg for Roger that matched Bucky’s metal arm. The prosthetic even had a red star on it, just like Bucky’s. 

 

“Stop it Thor,” Loki hissed at his brother.

Your eyes turned to the brothers who were sitting on the floor. Loki’s back was leaning on the couch you were sitting on, while Thor was kneeling as he reached to try to pet Frost, but Loki was holding his cat to his chest, covering him with his arms and body. 

“Why can’t I pet him?” Thor complained. 

“Because he’s mine,” Loki told him, his eyes narrowed, still shielding the cat. “You can’t touch him. Go pet your own cat.” 

“But I don’t have an animal. It’s not fair that you have a pet and I do not,” Thor complained.

“You know,” Clint spoke up, putting his phone down and looking at everyone, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “It isn’t fair. How come Bucky and Loki get an animal and we don’t?”

The Avengers all looked at each other, nodding, agreeing that it wasn’t fair. Everyone, save for Tony, had grown fond of Roger and Frost. The cat wouldn’t let anyone come near him anyway except for Loki and for some odd reason, you, but everyone still enjoyed the animals. With Bucky and Loki being so protective of the animals and having a companion, everyone felt kinda jealous and wanted a pet too. 

“You know what?” Tony snapped, already pissed off with everyone for the day because his new project didn’t work the way that he wanted. He had to let off some steam at someone and the option seemed to be at the Avengers. “Let’s all go get you stupid pets. Let’s go back to the shelter and the damn PetStore if you guys don’t want a dog or cat.” 

He started to storm towards the door, muttering under his breath that you could never count on stupid animals, and that technology was the only thing that you should count on. 

Everyone’s eyes widened, surprised by Tony’s sudden outburst. Your eyes, as well as everyone else’s, turned to Steve, asking him if it was okay to leave since Steve and Tony were like the parents that kept everyone in check. Tony was the wild dad that wanted to do fun things while Steve was like the mom that wanted things clean and orderly. Steve hesitated, but soon realized that it wasn’t fair and everyone was never going to let him off the hook until he agreed. He shrugged and immediately those that wanted pets, Thor, Clint, Nat, and even Bruce, got up and rushed towards the elevator. 

 

Bucky and Steve looked at each other and then gave a ‘why not’ face then walked to the elevator. You were about to follow but you noticed Loki wasn’t coming, instead he playing with Frost on the ground. 

“Aren’t you coming?” You asked. 

Loki looked up at you with surprise, but it was quickly wiped from his face. “I already have a pet. I do not wish for another animal,” He stated.

“You should still tag along,” You said, hopeful that he would change his mind. “It could be fun.” 

“Do you wish for me to come?” Loki asked bluntly making you blink your eyes in surprise, your cheeks heating up. 

“Of course I do,” You said then quickly covered that up. “I mean you’re my friend, why wouldn’t I want you to come?” Dangit [Name]! You cursed yourself. You just friend zoned him! You friend zoned him! IDIOT!

Not that he would ever really care, your doubtful self told you in your he ad . And it’s not like you could ever be more than friends. 

Even though it was true, it still hurt to hear that. Instead of focusing on your feelings, you turned your attention back to Loki who had a light smirk on his face. 

He nodded his head softly, “Alright. I will come, but you have to do something for me first.” He said a mischievous smile on his face. 

You looked at him warily. “Okay?” You said, not quite sure of yourself, but Loki took it. 

“If I come, you have to do a favor for me.” 

“What kind of favor?” You asked slowly, your eyes narrowing in suspicion, not trusting Loki. You may have a crush on him, but that didn’t mean you trusted him completely . He was, after all, the God of Mischief.

Loki smirked then stood up, “I guess you will have to find out. Do you agree to the deal?”

You hesitated, but finally nodded, “Fine. But I can back out of it if you’re going to make me do something stupid or something I’m not comfortable with. Okay? ”

“I agree to your terms.” 

“Good,” You smiled in relief. “We better hurry to catch up with everyone then.” 

“Indeed,” Loki said, a sly smile forming on his face. 

 

Before you walked into the store, Steve set some rules. “Alright, you can all get a pet but only one. If you want a dog or cat, we’ll go to the shelter after. Check with me and Tony first to see if it’s okay. Is everyone clear with that?” Everyone nodded and he let you all go.

As everyone walked into the store, the ding of the bell rang but you could hardly hear it over the noises of all the animals. You blinked a few times, trying to get used to the noise. Looking around, you crinkled your nose at the smell but didn’t comment on it, and instead scanned the shop.

Once everyone was all inside and had glanced around, you all turned to Tony who was scowling at everything, his arms crossed. “Well?” He asked harshly, his voice taunt. “Go get your dumb ass animals.” 

You blinked again then turned to look around, everyone scattering to check out the store, you going towards the mice and hamsters. You smiled as you watched the white mouse run in a circle around the wheel, get on it and run for a little bit before getting off and repeating the whole thing over and over again. A small laugh left your lips from watching the mouse continue the silly action. 

“What is so humorous?” Loki asked, coming besides you.

“Just this mouse,” You smiled, pointing to the energetic one who decided to just continue his cycle. 

Loki made a humming noise in response, but never answering as he watched the mouse with you. Finally he spoke. “Are you going purchase a pet?”

“Nah,” You answered, turning your gaze off the mouse and into his beautiful emerald green eyes. 

“Oh?” Loki asked, an eyebrow raised in question, asking you why not. 

Shrugging, you responded, “I don’t know. I love animals, don’t get me wrong, but…” you sadly turned your gaze on the mouse. “I don’t want to get attached, then have to say goodbye when they die. I-” Your voice broke. “I don’t like goodbyes.” 

A cold, yet comforting hand rested on your shoulder, making you slowly turn your head to see a sympathetic look on Loki’s face. 

You gave him a small smile then took a big sigh, the smile returning on your face as you changed the depressing thought to a happy one. “So how are you liking Frost?”

Loki’s expression brightened. “I like him very much,” He smiled but slowly it disappeared, his eyes meeting yours. “I do have a question though.”

“Shoot.”

His smile returned, only this time it was a sly and cunning smile, making you suddenly feel uneasy. “What was his name before? Before Frost, I mean. ”

Your cheeks started to tint red but you tried to cover it up with a cough. “He-uh-didn’t have one.”

“Really?” He asked, looking at you like he knew more than you thought he did, making your cheeks heat up more. 

“Ahuh,” You said, not being able to utter actual words, as you were afraid you might stutter. 

“I’m offended that you don’t think I could see through your lie,” Loki said, not angrily, instead in an amusing tone, as he walked behind you.

You closed your eyes when he stopped directly behind you. With all your heart you tried to wish away the nightmare, but it just kept going. 

“Now,” he said, his voice slowly leaning in closer towards your ear. “Tell me the truth this time.”

You swallowed from how close he was but stepped so that you could see his face. “He didn’t have a name when he came to the shelter,” You stated honestly, hoping you’d get out of this mess by telling a half truth. 

Loki gave a small laugh, making your stomach flip. “That I do believe,” Loki said, making your body flush with relief, only to have your heart stop and drop to your stomach at his next words. “But…I know you gave him a name after he came to the shelter.” 

He must have seen defeat on your face because he showed his teeth in a triumphant grin. 

“I don’t know why this really matters, Loki. I mean he already has a name now so why-”

“[Name],” He interrupted, knowing that you were stalling as he crossed his arms and gave you a look, blinking his eyes slowly for you to actually tell him.

“Why do you have to know?” You asked softly.

“For one, I enjoy watching your squirm from discomfort,” Loki admitted, “But I was also told that he had a different name, one that he liked more than the one that I gave him until I told him my name, for some odd reason.” 

You felt so embarrassed by what you were about to say, that you didn’t notice that Loki spoke as if the cat had talked to him. 

Squeezing your eyes tightly, your cheeks red and your voice hardly audible, you told him. “I named him Loki.” 

The God must not have known that part because his eyes widened and he took a slight step back, “You…you named him after me?”

Nervously you shook your head then quickly explained, “I mean he just reminded me of you. He had a brother and they acted like you and Thor. Frost always tried to sneak out of his cage and he always seemed really smart so I named him Loki. He just reminded me of how you acted and he always seemed too smart for his own good. The other cat, his brother, I named Thor.”

A small cocky smile started to creep up on his face so slowly that you didn’t notice as you continued ranting, but when you mentioned that you named the other cat after Thor, his smile faltered, turning into an almost jealous frown. “You named the cat Thor?” 

“Uh...yeah,” You answered nervously, looking at the floor while shuffling your feet and wringing the bottom of your shirt with your hands.

“Why?” He asked, his voice sounding upset.

You were afraid he was going to yell at you but you still answered, trying not to let the tears fall as badly as they threatened to spill over. “I already told you,” You said quietly, blinking away the tears, then followed with, “Look, I’m sorry if naming the cat after you offended you. I-”

Loki placed his hands on your shoulders, making you jump from surprise. His voice sounded stern when he started to answer, “Of course-”

Quickly you cut him off, not wanting him to finish the rest of his sentence as you knew he was about to say, “Of course I’m offended.” Though, you didn’t know it was the exact opposite, an d his voice was stern because he was shocked that you thought he would be upset at you. 

The tears reappeared and you lowered your head, the embarrassment flushing through you. “Can I-” Your voice broke as you couldn’t meet his eyes, afraid he might see your tears. “Can I just go?” You asked softly then added a desperate, “Please?” 

His hands left your shoulders as if they were fire and you quickly sped walked away, your hand reaching up to wipe away a tear as you left. 

You quickly made it to the single bathroom and locked the door behind you as your tears started to flow harder. Walking over to the sink, your hands gripped the edge of the porcelain while you looked into the mirror, watching yourself cry. 

“That was so embarrassing,” You muttered to yourself, your face in your hands after you had looked at your face for a while, a small sob escaping your lips.

Once you had finished crying, you fixed your makeup so you looked normal again, your eyes only slightly puffy. As you were looking at yourself in the mirror, you tried not to cry again as your brain reminded you of how embarrassing that was. Finally, you were able to open the door and leave to roam around the PetStore again, careful to avoid Loki.

You spotted Clint and sighed in relief as you started to walk towards him. He glanced at you then back at the cage he was looking at before calling over to you, “[Name]!” he called your name excitedly. “Check this out.” 

He ran towards you, grabbing your arm and yanking you towards the cage. When he released you, you rubbed your wrist and gave him a soft glare. 

“Say hello,” Clint told the bird in the cage, making you raise an eyebrow. 

“Say hello,” The bird repeated, making you jump back in surprise. 

“Isn’t that awesome!” Clint shouted. 

“Are you going to get him?” You ask. 

Clint’s expression brightened so much you wondered if that was a mistake to ask. 

“TONY!” Clint yelled in a sing song voice and ran to the billionaire. 

“Definitely a bad idea,” You muttered to yourself before going back to wander the store. 

 

After about three hours, everyone that wanted a pet got one except for Steve and Thor. Clint, surprisingly, got the talking bird, Nat got a ferret, and Bruce got two fish. The car was piled with pet supplies and the animals, so Tony drove everything and everyone home so they could set up everything.

Steve and Thor wanted dogs, so you and Loki joined them, as you worked there, and Loki didn’t want to be in the car with all the animals.

The shelter wasn’t that far away so you all decided to walk and have Tony pick you up later. Both Steve and Thor wanted big dogs and there were two at the shelter that you knew would fit them perfectly. So you already bought the supplies and sent them home with Tony. Now all you had to do was show the two dogs to them. 

When you walked into the shelter, Lucy looked up from what she was doing, a smile on her face going to greet the small group, but stopped the greeting when she saw you. 

[Name]!” She exclaimed cheerfully.

“Hi Lucy.” You smiled then gestured to Steve and Thor. “We’re here to check out those two golden retrievers?”

Lucy clapped her hands together. “Oh you’ll love those two!” She smiled brightly, referring to Steve and Thor. 

“I hope so ma’am,” Steve nodded, smiling. 

“Come on back boys, so I can show them to you,” Lucy said, walking towards the back with you, Thor and Steve following before Loki pulled you back. 

Surprised, you looked back at him, fear clenching his heart as a reminder of what happened earlier in the pet store. 

“[Name]…” Loki said gently, drawing your name out as his fingers brushed your hand. 

As much as you wanted him to hold your hand, you instinctively drew your hand back as quickly as you felt his touch, the haunting memory bolded in your thoughts. 

“We should catch up to them.” You said quickly. As he opened his mouth, you quickly turned away and rushed towards the doors, walking for a bit but finally stopping and closing your eyes as you took a deep breath trying to clear the memory. You heard the door swing open, indicating that Loki walked in, so you started walking towards the kennels again. When you finally made it to the kennel, you slowed your pace and put your hands on your hips, smiling as you saw Thor and Steve on the floor, the two togs on top of them licking their faces enthusiastically. Thor and Steve were laughing and weakly trying to get them off while Lucy smiled at them, walking besides you before stopping and saying, “I’ll get them ready to go home with you guys.” 

You met her eyes and gave her a bright smile before watching the sight in front of you again, the awkward moment with Loki passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I was supposed to do this Wednesday, but idk time slipped by. I'd like to offically thank our new editor Geronimo_with_the_avengers. She's fantastic. 
> 
> \--LondynEngland


	3. The Curse of Chatter Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chatter Box likes to repeat what he hears. And the Avengers don't take crap from anyone, let alone a bird.

 

Chapter Three: The Curse of Chatter Box

 

~One Week Later~

 

            The animals were settling in nicely and everyone seemed to bond really well with their pets. Each of the pets got their own room (Yes, the two fish even had their own rooms because Tony insisted.) The pets names were also on the door so you could tell which room belonged to who.

            Naming the pets wasn’t easy at first, but eventually everyone was able to find a name that suited them.

           Clint chose a childish name for the bird and called it Chatter Box. Thor named his female golden retriever Storm, Steve named the other female dog Liberty. Nat chose to name the ferret Alik, meaning defender in Russian. Bruce chose a common name for one of his fish, Betty; although, he wouldn’t tell why he chose that name. The other fish Bruce named Gamma, short for Gamma Radiation. He said that he needed to stop thinking of the incident as a bad thing and tried making it good by using the cause of what happened to him as a name.

           “Make it shut up!” Tony complained holding his ears, trying to block out the noise.

            “Shut up, shut up,” Chatter Box repeated, hopping around the cage, looking at Tony almost mockingly, knowing Tony hated it when he made noise and repeated him.

            You sighed, agreeing with Tony. The name that Clint choose for the bird matched its personality very well, a little too well. The bird made noise 24/7 and Tony, along with everyone save Clint, were sick of it/.

            “Tony, this is your fault to begin with,” You told him, petting Frost as he sat on your lap.

            “My fault?” Tony asked, sounding stunned as he sat up. “How in the living hell is this my fault!?”

            “You were the one that gave Clint permission,” Nat reminded Tony, closing her eyes and flinching as the bird made a loud squawk.

             Tony groaned and flopped on the couch, muttering curses as the bird continued to screech away.

             Clint walked in smiling as he pet Chatter Box on the head with his two fingers. “What a good bird,” He praised as the bird nuzzled against his hand.

            “A good bird!?” Tony exclaimed, his patience snapping. He jumped up and stomped towards the bird and Clint. “How about we have chicken tonight? We might actually get some peace and quiet for once! And we’d get dinner too! I’m going to kill that bird if it’s the last thing I do, Clint!”

             “Tony!” Pepper scolded, walking towards him and quickly grabbing his shoulders, leading him away before he could hit the bird and/or Clint.

            When the bird was safe from Tony’s clutches, it started to make a noise that almost sounded like laughing, causing Tony to bolt for it again. “You little-!” he started, acting as if he was going to wring its neck.

            The bird squeaked in fear and flew to the far edge of the cage, frightened. Lucky for it, Pepper once again stopped Tony, who continued to glare at the bird as he was led away.

            Once Tony was almost out of the room, the bird started to prance back and forth and squawk mockingly.

            Loki suddenly burst out laughing, everyone’s attention on him. Loki tried covering the laugh, but was doing so poorly.

            “What?” You finally asked, being the first one to speak.

            The god of mischief attempted to compose himself. “Nothing, it’s just-” he snorted. “Well, maybe I  shouldn’t repeat what Chatter said.”

            Everyone looked at him as if he were implying that Chatter had spoken aloud. Before anyone could ask about it; however, Loki stood up and started to walk away, Tony and Pepper pausing in the doorway.

            “Frost,” Loki called to the black cat lying on your lap.

            You lifted your hand off of Frost’s back for him to jump off, but Frost only nuzzled closer to you, mewling a complain.  

            Loki stopped immediately, turning to look at his cat, an annoyed expression on his face. “Frost, come,” He called once more.  Yet again, Frost made a noise of complaint making Loki gape as if he heard Frost tell him no.

            “Go stupid cat,” Tony muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, making you glare at him and silently tell him that he wasn’t helping the problem. The cat agreed with the not helping part, and made a big deal of staying put.

            Nat, actually trying to help, said, “Frost, go on,” Yet again, he didn’t listen.  

           “Go, Frost,” You encouraged once more, trying to help Loki as best you could as Frost wasn’t listening to anyone.

           The cat finally seemed to register the command, as he stood up making a huge statement of taking his time, stretching longer than necessary, then nuzzling against your shirt, purring, before he hopped off and walked with a proud head over to Loki. Upon seeing Frost’s actions, Loki glared at the cat before rolling his eyes and walking away, Frost trailing behind.  

           “I don’t get it,” Clint spoke up, after Loki and Frost left the room, his tone  confused. “Why does he only listen to you and Loki? ”

           “He didn’t listen to Loki the first time,” Bruce pointed out, pointing his pencil at Clint.

           “This time,” Clint corrected. “The cat is like Loki though, can’t you see it?” Silence. Your brother looked exasperated and looked to Thor. “Come on Thor! Tell me you see it.”

           “As strange as it may sound, the cat, in many ways, acts much like my brother,” Thor agreed.

           “Thank you!” Clint exclaimed, his hand dramatically pointing to Thor.

           “Now that you mention it,” Tony pondered, his brown eyes landing on yours, “He really only does listen to you and Loki. He never listened to us, and I’m sure as hell that cat knew that Loki was calling it, but was too lazy to get up. The cat didn’t listen to us.”

           “You did call it stupid,” You pointed out.

           “Whatever,” Tony rolled his eyes. “But Nat didn’t. Besides, this isn’t the first time, [Name].”

           Opening your mouth to argue, you slowly closed it, realizing that other than you and Loki, the cat didn’t listen to anyone. This was one of the rare occasions that Frost didn’t listen to Loki, but when he didn’t, he always seemed to listen to you.

           Much like Loki, as Clint mentioned before, the cat was very mischievous, giving truth to the name that you gave him in the first place. Frost liked to tear apart the place, including:  ripping curtains, knocking things over, making a mess out of everything and had took great pleasure in terrorizing both the pets and the Avengers themselves. Whenever he destroyed something, however, he never managed to ruin yours or Loki’s things. It took a lot of convincing for you and Loki to actually believe that it was Frost in the first place. Frost was always so sweet around you and usually obeying to Loki. The only reason you believed it was the cat was because of a security tape showing Frost sneaking upstairs and ripping apart all the Avengers sheets, except Loki’s and yours.

           After thinking about it, you realized that they were right. Frost seemed to hate everyone except you two. He only listened to you and Loki, he only didn’t ruin yours and Loki’s stuff, he only allowed you and Loki to touch him and…a lot of other things too.

           “I’ve never noticed that,” You said softly, thinking aloud.

           “That cat belongs in hell, I swear to you,” Tony snarled.

           Steve rolled his eyes. “You say that about all the pets.”

           “Cuz it’s true.”

           “Come on, Tony,” Pepper persuaded. “Let’s just go upstairs.”

           “Go upstairs!” Chatter screeched making Tony clench his firsts and walk to the elevator muttering, ‘one day.’ Under his breath.

 

 

Tony giddily raced up the stairs to the Pet level of the tower, too excited to take the elevator.

            It was around 3 am and once again, Tony was the only one up working on a late project until he realized a brilliant plot and there was no way in _hell_ he was going to pass it up. No matter how much Tony hated Chatter Box, this was the perfect opportunity.

            Tony’s eyes were swollen and red from the lack of sleep and his face looked horrible. Despite how Tony looked and felt, he was wide awake for his latest genius plan.

            “Oh, Chatter Box,” He called out to the floor in a sing song voice.

            Immediately the devil bird came storming in and landing on a nearby couch, almost looking at Tony with hateful eyes.

            “Look,” Tony said, leveling with the bird. “I hate you and you hate me but you need to help me.”

            The bird gave a horrible screech as if to say ‘why should I help you?’

            “Yeah, yeah,” He waved it off, “If you help me, I’ll give you those stupid bird seeds that you love. ”

            Suddenly the bird seemed to be interested, its head tilted as if to indicate that he was listening.

            “Okay now listen carefully, repeat after me,” Tony said slowly, “Natasha is fat.”

            “Natasha is fat! Natasha is fat!” The bird screeched excitedly, willing to help Tony if it meant that he got something out of it.

            “Yes!” Tony shouted and did a small happy dance before continuing. “Thor has girl hair.”

            “Thor has girl hair!”

            “Excellent,” Tony muttered to himself rubbing his hands together like a cartoon villain would.  “Now let’s keep going.”

            The two of them continued to stay up, Tony saying insults and the bird repeating them. Eventually it turned into a swearing lesson until Tony was finally satisfied with his work. He patted his legs as he stood up, “Now just have these words slip whenever you can. Just make sure it’s not around Clint, okay?’

            “Okay! Okay! Okay!”

            A small smirk came on Tony’s face at the thought of how much fun this would be. He clapped his hands together as he turned towards the elevator. “Good night Chatter,” He called over his shoulder.

            “Go to hell! Go to hell!” Came the reply.

           

~~~~The Next Day~~~~

 

A muffled, angry scream echoed throughout the whole tower, causing everyone to jump. Thor even fell off of his chair.

           “Clint!” Came the scream again, this time audible.

           You made eye contact with everyone, the Avengers minus Tasha were on the main floor hanging out, so the scream could only come from one person…

           The elevator doors slid open revealing a red faced Natasha.

           “I know what you did!” Nat hissed, walking forwards and shaking her finger at your brother, who was sitting on the armrest of the couch.

           “Uh…What did I do?” Clint asked his face looking just as confused as everyone else, but then again, Nat didn’t get mad for any old reason. And there was also that fact that Clint always seemed to be pulling a prank- with or without Loki and Tony- or pushing Nat’s buttons, either intentional or not.

           Your brother glanced at you for an explanation and you gave him a, ‘what did you do?’ look. He stuck out his tongue in return.

           Clint turned back to Natasha, who started to threateningly stalk towards him. Clint, wide eyed, took small, calculated steps back.

           “I know what you think of me!” She screamed furiously at him.

           A pink immediately spread across Clint’s cheeks and it wasn’t hard to tell why.

           Clint had liked Tasha for what seemed like forever. He was way too wimpy to tell anyone his feelings towards the assassin. However, you already knew that the crush was mutual,  but both had threatened you with horrible things if you told, so you had kept quiet. Even if you had kept quiet however, it didn’t mean it didn’t frustrate you to no end when you saw the obvious signs.

         Your brother, thinking that Nat knew about the crush, was blushing and acting embarrassed because he thought Tasha was upset and furious with him about liking her, but it wasn’t the case.

           He swallowed, “You do?” Clint asked, his voice shaking slightly, a fragile look on his face, and a bead of sweat running down his neck.

           The archer looked over at you, slightly glaring, assuming that you had told her, but you were just as confused as he was and shook your head, shrugging; silently telling him it wasn’t you and you didn’t know who told her. When Clint realized you were telling the truth, his face softened, but the confusion in his eyes intensified.  

           “Hell yes I do!” Natasha yelled and stormed towards him, poking him in the chest hard with every step and every word. “I know what you said!”

           If Clint was confused before, he was utterly lost now. “Woah-woah-woah-wait!” Clint said, grabbing Nat’s wrists before she could hit him. “What are you talking about?”

           Her eyes narrowed and she took Clint’s hand roughly, ripping him towards the elevator.

           Nat!” You tried to call to her, but your pleas fell on lost ears as she continued to storm onwards. You sighed and got up to follow.

           Everyone was curious as to what Clint had done, so they too got up and trailed behind. The elevator stopped on the pet floor, everyone looking at Nat to see if she had the right floor, but she continued to glare at the doors, waiting for them to open.

           While you were looking around at the others, you noticed Tony trying to hide a smile. Suspicious, you narrowed your eyes at him, but quickly turned to Nat walking out of the elevator and exclaiming, “This!”

           Chatter Box was sitting on the couch, her finger pointed at him, the dumb bird ripping fluff from inside the couch.

           “Uh… Natasha,” Steve started. “It’s just Chatter. I don’t think Clint told him to rip up the couch.”

           “That’s not the problem Steve!” She stated annoyed, “It’s what Chatter said, not what he’s doing.”

           “Nat…” Steve said, drawing her name out, his tone telling her she was being ridiculous.

           “Just you wait!” She shouted, interrupting him. Her voice lessened to a gentler tone, “Chatter?” The bird cocked its head at her. “Tell them what you were saying.” Tasha demanded, her tone slightly growing hard as she crossed her arms over her chest, a look of determination on her face.

           “Tasha is fat!” The bird squawked loudly making everyone’s eyes widen and blink in surprise.

           “See!” The assassin yelled, her hand angrily pointing to the bird. Tony's snickering earned him a glare from the redhead.

           “How does this have anything to relate to the archer?” Loki asked in a bored tone.

           “Because he,” Nat started, giving a still confused Clint an icy glare, “Is the only one that the bird is ever around! Birds repeat things that they’ve heard and Clint was probably talking about me behind my back and the bird overheard it!”

           Clint took a step towards her, his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Nat… I didn’t say that, I promise!”

           “Really?! Clint, you are the only one Chatter comes close to! You're the only one he could have overheard it from!”

           Your brother made a sound of disbelief and was going to argue his side, but he never got the chance.

           “Don’t tell Nat!” Chatter screeched. “Promise Daddy Clint not to tell!”

           An angry red flush came on Nat’s face. “How do you explain that?!”

           “Daddy Clint?” Bucky asked, looking over at Clint with amused eyes.

           “Shut up!” Clint growled at him while Bucky just gave a small laugh, shaking his head.

           “Do you want me to prove it even more?” Nat asked, fire in her eyes. “[Name],” You turned upon hearing your name. “Try to pet Chatter.”

           You looked warily at the bird. “Why?”

           “Because it will prove that the bird won’t let anyone, not even Clint’s sister, come near him.”

           “[Name], you don’t have to do that,” Clint told you.

           “That’s what a guilty person would say,” Tony muttered.

           Natasha crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Clint. He finally rolled his eyes, “I’m not guilty. I would never say that,” He said confidently.

           “Alright [Name],” Bruce said, your eyes turning to him. “If Chatter Box bites you, then I guess we know Clint’s guilty.”

           “Yeah, [Name],” Tony laughed, “Go ahead.”

           Slowly, your eyes turned to the bird that almost looked evilly back at you. You swallowed and walked up to the bird, holding your [Right or Left] finger with your other hand, close to your chest. “H-hey Chatter,” You said and slowly drew your hand closer to pet him. At first Chatter Box seemed to be doing great until, at the last second, when you were about to touch him he bit your finger really hard making you retract your hand with a slight startled scream.

           “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch,” You said shaking your hand then looking at it to see that there was decent size cut out of it, blood dripping out. “Ouch,” You said again, frowning at the cut.

           “Here,” Loki said immediately after he saw the cut. He gently, yet quickly, took your injured hand in his left, placing his right hand over yours, closing his eyes and muttering something under his breath. Your eyes widened as he did so, looking up at his closed eyes, shocked and blushing from the contact. When he finished, he removed his hand, making you quickly look down at it and see that the cut was gone.

           You blinked a few times, examining your finger before you finally looked up to meet forest green eyes. “T-thank you,” You managed to say, surprise clear on your face at how quickly he reacted to healing something so small. You knew that he could heal people, both small wounds and large wounds, as you’d seen him do both before. But you never thought he’d react so quickly to heal something on you that could be healed in a day. He’d healed a broken leg, a bruised back and a few broken ribs in one sitting when Tony purposely made Bruce Hulk out and the Hulk threw him across the room. Tony, the idiot he was muttered, ‘Worth it’ under his breath when he was lying on the ground in pain. When he had healed people in the past, however, it had been rather large wounds as he preferred not to use his magic on small wounds that could heal quickly. You couldn’t help but be surprised that he would heal something so small when he never did to anyone else besides himself.

           Loki nodded to you, acknowledging your thanks.

           “How do you explain that!” Natasha told Clint, her eyes holding flames.

           Clint opened and closed his mouth a few times but couldn’t explain anything.

           Tasha’s eyes narrowed again at him and stormed towards him, her fist raised while Clint shielded his face. Before her fist collided, Chatter took that moment to speak again.

           “Thor has girl hair!” Chatter screeched, making everyone turn to look at the bird. “Barbie Thor! Barbie Thor!”

           Loki and you both looked at each other then tried to muffle your laughs.

           “Brother Barton!” Thor exclaimed, “I do not have a maiden’s hair! How could you dare say such things?”

           You and Loki couldn’t hold in your laughter and soon you were laughing full out with Tony. Bucky and Steve were trying to hide their laughs as well, while Bruce just rubbed his temples, knowing no good could come from this.

           “Thor I didn’t-”

           “And now you’re making fun of Thor too!” Nat accused.

           Clint shook his head, his eyes growing wide. “No, no, no-”

           “Steve wears tights!” Chatter Box sang. “Freedom, freedom, freedom! All I hear! All I hear! No more America! No more!”

           This time it was Steve’s turn to get upset. “Clint making fun of me is one thing, but making fun of America, the land you live in, isn’t.”

           “What? But I never-”

            Chatter only continued. “Buck Tooth Bucky! Buck, Buck, Buck Tooth!”

            By this time you, Loki and Tony were dying of laughter.

            “Loki is as cold as ice! Frosty, frosty! Blue boy, blue boy!”

            The God of Mischief immediately stopped laughing, “That was not humorous,” He stated, his eyes narrowed.

            “Come on Lokster,” Tony nudged him, “Lighten up!”

            “[Name]’s hair is a rat’s nest!” Chatter screeched.

            You were shocked and glared at Clint, “Why would you say that?” You asked him furiously.

            “Wait a second,” Bruce said, stepping forwards. “Clint wouldn’t say anything about [Name]. Something’s not right here.”

            Chatter Box started to list off numerous things about the Avengers, and a realization started to go off in everyone’s heads when they heard what Chatter was saying.

            Everyone’s eyes turned to Tony who was still laughing historically, holding his stomach as he was bending over.

            “Tony…” Bruce said, making Tony look up and wipe a tear from his eye.

            “What?” Tony asked, trying to control his laughter.

            “Chatter didn’t say anything about you,” Bruce said, tapping his foot, his arms crossed and looking at Tony. Immediately Tony looked at the ground and swore.

            “I knew I forgot something,” He muttered.

            “So it was you!” Clint yelled, pushing through everyone. “You tried to make me the bad guy?!”

            Tony looked at him wide eyed and looked at everyone who was still pissed by what Tony had done. “Uhh…” He bolted away towards the elevator and started to press the close button repeatedly. “Close, close, close.” He yelled, trying to get away before everyone strangled him.

            It was a race towards the elevator, trying to get to Tony. But at the last second, the doors closed in your faces.

            “He is so dead when I catch him,” Clint growled.

            “Stupid elevator,” Natasha said, then kicked it. “We lost him.”

            Loki smirked, “That’s not entirely true.”

            Everyone looked at him and he smirked widely before turning to the elevator and holding his hands out, closing his eyes and muttering something under his breath. You flinched when you heard screaming come from inside the elevator. “No! No! NO! Go down! Go down! Stop! No! NO!” Everyone jumped in surprise when the elevator dinged and showed Tony, plastered against the corner of the elevator, his eyes wide from fear and frozen to the spot. “I can explain.”

            “Too late!” Nat hissed as she raced towards him while Tony cowered.

            “Not the face!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm so bad at updating I am seriously so sorry. But quick heads up, next week will not be an update for this story...
> 
> We have a Halloween themed one-shot planned and written for next time. 
> 
> Drop us a comment if you have a request, concern or just want to talk. We're always here :)


	4. Sne-kitty

“[Name]!" You heard Steve shout on your floor.   
"Yeah?" You called back, pausing the show you were watching, Sherlock, on Netflix.  
Steve suddenly appeared at your door in his work out gear from training. "Have you seen my shield?" He asked, a strange panic in his voice.  
Knowing that Steve was one of the least likely of the Avengers to lose something, you couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You lost your shield?" You asked, not bothering to hide the surprise in your voice.   
Rubbing his neck, Steve nodded. "Clint, Natasha and I were practicing and I set it down to work on some hand to hand combat and when I turned around, it was gone!"   
Sitting up a little more in bed, you asked, "Did you ask everyone?"  
The worry on Steve's face was starting to make you feel agitated as well. "Tony and Bruce are at some convention, and Loki and Thor haven't come back from Asgard yet,"   
You let a small sigh, "Don't remind me." You whispered in a hardly audible voice, but Steve kept talking.   
"And Clint and Nat were with me."  
Coming back to the conversation you asked, "What about Bucky?"  
"He was with us too," Steve ran his hands through his hair, pacing back and forth, obviously really upset about this. "Where could it be, [Name]?"  
"Don't worry, Steve," you assured, getting out of bed. "I'll help you look."  
"Thank you, [Name]." He gave a sigh of relief.  
"Where have you been today?" You asked, walking with him out of your room and to the elevator. "We'll retrace your steps."  
"Almost everywhere, unfortunately. That's the problem," his jaw tensed, as he tried to prevent his voice from raising.   
"Okay, calm down Steve." you had never seen him like this before, it was like Steve couldn't even function. "Steve we're going to find it, it's not like it got up and walked away."  
Steve took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "You're right."  
Pushing the lobby button, the doors closing. You suggested an idea. "Let's start from the bottom of the tower and go up the floors until we find it. It might take a while, but you kinda need the shield."  
He nodded sorrowfully and the two of you went along with your plan until you were nearly halfway through the tower, still no sign of the shield.   
"We're never going to find it," Steve moaned, flopping into the couch in despair after searching for over an hour. "How could I have even lost something that big?"  
You bit your lip, feeling about ready to give up too. "Let's just check a few more floors," you tried to encourage but you didn't sound as enthusiastic as you could have been. "We'll find it."  
Steve sighed, obviously not agreeing with you but followed anyway.   
Walking into the elevator, you pressed the floor to where all the pets stayed.   
"No," Steve interrupted. "I know I didn't go there today, it was Bucky's turn to feed the pet's this morning."  
"I know, but now it's my turn," you reminded, then looked at Steve sheepishly. "Could you help?" He didn't seem so willing so you threw him a puppy dog face and a guilt trip for good measure. "After how much I've helped you? Pleaseeeee??"  
Finally he gave. "Alright," He sighed.  
"Yes!" You exclaimed just as the doors opened, "You get the right and I'll get the left side."   
"The right?" He repeated, hesitantly then groaned when you nodded.  
"What?" You asked reading his look.  
"Loki's cat is in the right side." He complained, a small whiny and almost scared tone to his voice.   
You looked at him for a moment then burst out laughing. "You're scared of the cat?!" You cracked up, realizing what he was so worried about.   
"I have a good reason to!" Steve stiffened, clearly upset. "That cat hates everyone except you and Loki!"  
"Oh come on, Steve," you rolled your eyes. "You're acting silly."  
"I'm serious, [Name]!" Steve defended himself.   
"Do you want me to go in there with you?" You teased, using a baby voice then laughed when he nodded with complete seriousness. You rolled your eyes. "I can't believe you can fight an army of aliens with no problem, but a cat freaks you out."   
"That cat is evil. I'm pretty sure it is an alien!"   
"Come on Steve!" You called, walking down the hall.   
"Where are you going?" He asked panicked  
"To get the food," you called behind you. "Just get his bowl you big baby, I'll be right there."  
Steve scowled at you but obeyed turning regretfully to Frost's door. he let out a small groan before opening the door hesitantly sticking his head in. "Frost?" He called softly, "Frost? Here kitty, kitty." He was about to call out again when something red, white and blue caught his eye.   
"My shield!" He exclaimed, forgetting all about the cat and walking over to his shield, calling behind him. "Hey [Name]! I found it!"  
He grinned, bending down to pick it up but froze when the shield suddenly slid to the left.   
"What?" Steve mumbled to himself. He turned and went to pick up the shield again, being more cautious, and watching it, but ended up yelping, falling to the ground when the shield bolted to its original position, tripping Steve in the process.   
Groaning, Steve started to get up but stopped, seeing the shield move just a little. He narrowed his eyes then lifted the shield up, only to scream when Frost, Loki's cat, jumped out from underneath it, arching its back and hissing at him before running away, hiding under something.  
"Okay Steve," you said from the hall, "I found the foo-" you stopped short, seeing the shield. "Hey!" You exclaimed happily. "You found it!" Then did a double take of Steve sprawled out on the floor. "Um.... Why are you on the floor?"   
Rather than answering, Steve just groaned, flopping over on his back.   
"Meow?" A soft noise to your right came and you smiled seeing Frost peak out from under the dresser.   
You bent down opening your arms, calling to him. Frost happily raced into your arms, purring and nuzzling closer to you.   
"See, Steve," you hugged Frost. "He's just a little sweetheart." You turned around, holding Frosty over your shoulder like a baby and walking away.   
"Demon cat," Steve muttered.   
Frost made a silent, menacing hiss to Steve, giving him an evil look before nuzzling you and purring to make a statement to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Part 2 of Managing the Avengers was a little longer than we expected, so we're breaking it up into chapters. Stay tuned!
> 
> Disclaimer: This is based off of a tumblr post, but i'm way to tired rn to find it. We also only own the characters Dan and Lucy.


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